Gove pledges compensation for farmers in no-deal Brexit

Livestock farmers will be compensated if markets collapse in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, revealed yesterday when addressing north-east farmers at Keith.

He was speaking at a meeting convened by NFU Scotland and hosted by Graeme Christie on the family farm of Edintore.

Mr Gove said support would be necessary to compensate farmers for the imposition of tariffs on exports of beef and lamb which could be as high as 40% or more and would act to undermine the market.

He will be outlining his proposals to Scottish industry leaders in Edinburgh on Monday and will also be meeting Scotland’s Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, in a bid to persuade the Scottish Government to adopt a similar policy.

“I’m confident we will reach a deal with EU on Brexit but our contingency plans are well advanced in the event of a no-deal,” he said. “All livestock sectors will be included in the proposed compensation scheme, including dairy, but the sheepmeat sector is the most vulnerable and will need to be protected.”

It was in the interests of the rest of Europe to achieve a deal as Europe exported £40 billion of foodstuffs to the UK which was double that of the UK to Europe.